Carrier for feminine hygiene products

ABSTRACT

A carrier comprises a lid defining a first compartment, a bottom container portion coupled to the lid and defining a second compartment, a plurality of feminine hygiene products retained inside the first and second compartments, and first and second elastic bands respectively and releaseably retaining the feminine hygiene products in the first and second compartments.

RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This patent application claims the benefit of provisional patentapplication No. 60/670,180 filed on Apr. 11, 2005, and entitled PortableFeminine Accessory Storage and Carrying System, incorporated herein byreference.

This patent application is related to co-pending patent application(Attorney Docket No. 34863.3) filed on Apr. 11, 2006, and entitledTubular Dispenser for Cleansing Wipes, incorporated herein by reference.This patent application is also related to co-pending patent application(Attorney Docket No. 34863.3) filed on Apr. 11, 2006, and entitledFeminine Product Disposal Envelope With Cleansing Wipes, alsoincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

All women of all ages have to contend with the dilemma of where and howto discreetly carry and store feminine hygiene products so that they areeasily accessible when needed. A variety of feminine hygiene productsmay be used for menstrual discharge, such as tampons, sanitary napkins,panty liners, and moistened wipes. Many women prefer to use more thanone type of feminine hygiene product at one time. Many women may alsouse a number of different products with varying absorption capabilitiesat different times during the menstrual cycle.

Because the menstrual flow begins unexpectedly, women have to carry thefeminine hygiene products with them in advance of the start of menstrualdischarge. Young women may crave the security of having feminineproducts available and on-hand in anticipation of their first menstrualperiod. The feminine products therefore may be carried in purses orbackpacks for a period of time before they are used. Because mostfeminine products lack an outer wrapping or have a very thin outerpackaging that is easily torn, they can easily become soiled, damagedand otherwise unusable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the followingdetailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It isemphasized that, in accordance with the standard practice in theindustry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, thedimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased orreduced for clarity of discussion.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a carrier for femininehygiene products;

FIG. 2 is another perspective view of an embodiment of carrier forfeminine hygiene products with an open lid;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of an embodiment of carrier for femininehygiene products with an open lid; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along line 4-4 in FIG. 3 of anembodiment of a latch for the elastic band; and

FIG. 5 is yet another perspective view of an embodiment of carrier forfeminine hygiene products.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is desirable to provide a discreet and stylish storage container tocarry and store feminine hygiene products.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a carrier 10 forfeminine hygiene products. Carrier 10 is generally rectangular in shapeand has a lid 12 that fits over a bottom container portion 14. Lid 12may be coupled to bottom container portion 14 by a hinge or a hingefastener 15. Hinge 15 may be biased to close the lid onto the bottomcontainer portion. Carrier 10 may be constructed of a rigid andlight-weight plastic material. A corner of bottom container portion 14may define an opening 16 that is operable to accommodate a ring 17attached to a lanyard hook, snap hook, slip hook or swivel hook 18. Hook18 may be used to releaseably attach carrier 10 to another item such asa purse or backpack strap, for example. Lid 12 and bottom containerportion 14 may be adorned with decorative designs to further enhance theappearance of the carrier. The carrier may be dimensioned and/orcontoured to fit specific brands or types of feminine products. Thecarrier may be streamlined and have a thin profile so that it may beeasily carried in a purse or pocket. Fashionable colors and designs maybe used to adorn the outer surfaces of the carrier.

In order to further secure carrier 10, a lock 19 may be included toensure that the carrier does not open accidentally. Lock 19 may be acombination lock-type having three rotatable number wheels that requiresthe user to line up three numbers in the proper sequence in order toopen the lock. Other suitable types of locks may also be used.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are a perspective view and a top plan view of anembodiment of carrier 10 for feminine hygiene products with an open lid12. The open lid reveals two main compartments 20 and 22, one definedinside lid 12 and one defined inside bottom container portion 14. Asshown in FIG. 2, for example, compartment 20 houses a plurality offeminine napkins and/or panty liners 24. Compartment 22 may house avariety of feminine hygiene products such as one or more tampons 26,rolled-up panty liners or moistened wipes 27, and moistened wipes housedin a tubular container 28. Tubular container 28 is described in moredetail in co-pending patent application (Attorney Docket No. 34863.4)entitled Tubular Dispenser for Hygiene Wipes.

The contents stored inside compartments 20 and 22 may be held in placeby elastic bands 30 and 32. Lid 12 may include a tab 34 operable toengage a catch 36 disposed on bottom container portion 14. A hook 18(lanyard hook, snap hook, slip hook or swivel hook) attached to a strap38 may be coupled to opening 16 defined in the bottom container portion.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along line 4-4 in FIG. 3 of anembodiment of a latch 40 for retaining elastic band 32. It may be seenin FIG. 2 that elastic band 30 is releaseably retained by latch 42 tokeep the contents within compartment 20 inside lid 12. It may be seenthat the elastic bands may be easily unhooked from the latches ifneeded.

FIG. 5 is yet another perspective view of an embodiment of carrier 10for feminine hygiene products. A different type of hook is used hereinfor releaseably engaging a carrying strap 38 to the carrier.Alternatively, lid 12 may define an opening for engaging a hook.

Carrier 10 is preferably constructed of a rigid material that enablescarrier 10 to retain its general shape and preventing its contents frombeing crushed. Alternatively, carrier 10 may be constructed of asemi-rigid material that more or less retains its general shape.Suitable materials include plastic, thick fabric, and other materials.Compartments 20 and/or 22 may be further subdivided into smallercompartments to carry items of varying sizes.

Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been described indetail, those skilled in the art should understand that they may makevarious changes, substitutions and alterations herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, allsuch changes, substitutions and alterations are intended to be includedwithin the scope of the present disclosure as defined in the followingclaims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to coverthe structures described herein as performing the recited function andnot only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures.

1. A carrier comprising: a lid defining a first compartment; a bottomcontainer portion coupled to the lid and defining a second compartment;a plurality of feminine hygiene products retained inside the first andsecond compartments; and first and second elastic bands respectively andreleaseably retaining the feminine hygiene products in the first andsecond compartments.
 2. The carrier of claim 1, wherein the bottomcontainer portion further defines an opening operable to releaseablyengage a hook.
 3. The carrier of claim 1, wherein the bottom containerportion further defines an opening operable to releaseably engage acarrying strap.
 4. The carrier of claim 1, wherein the plurality offeminine hygiene products is selected from the group consisting oftampons, feminine napkins, panty liners, and moistened wipes.
 5. Thecarrier of claim 1, wherein the plurality of feminine hygiene productscomprise at least one tampon.
 6. The carrier of claim 1, wherein theplurality of feminine hygiene products comprise at least one femininenapkin.
 7. The carrier of claim 1, wherein the plurality of femininehygiene products comprise a tubular moistened wipe dispenser.
 8. Thecarrier of claim 1, wherein the lid comprises a tab and the bottomcontainer portion comprises a catch, the tab and the catch are operableto engage one another.
 9. The carrier of claim 1, further comprising alock operable to securely engage the lid to the bottom container.
 10. Afeminine hygiene product carrier comprising: a lid defining a firstcompartment; a bottom container portion hinged to the lid and defining asecond compartment; at least one panty liner housed inside the firstcompartment; at least one tubular moistened wipe dispenser housed insidethe second compartment; and first and second elastic bands respectivelyand releaseably retaining the at least one panty liner and the at leastone tubular moistened wipe dispenser in the first and secondcompartments.
 11. The carrier of claim 10, wherein the bottom containerportion further defines an opening operable to releaseably engage ahook.
 12. The carrier of claim 10, wherein the bottom container portionfurther defines an opening operable to releaseably engage a carryingstrap.
 13. The carrier of claim 10, further comprising a hinge couplingthe lid and the bottom container portion and further being biased toclose the lid over the bottom container portion.
 14. The carrier ofclaim 10, wherein the at least one tubular moistened wipe dispensercomprises: a long slender tubular body having a diameter between aboutone to about two inches; a dispensing lid having a plurality ofcross-wise slits disposed at a first end of the tubular body; and aself-hinged lid covering the dispensing lid at the first end of thetubular body.
 15. The dispenser of claim 10, further comprising meansfor urging moistened wipes disposed in the long slender tubular bodytoward the dispensing lid.
 16. The dispenser of claim 15, furthercomprising a rotatable base operable to actuate the urging means.
 17. Afeminine hygiene product carrying system comprising: a first compartmentcarrying: a tubular container having cross-wise slits and a cap, and aplurality of pre-moistened cleansing wipes rolled and stored in thetubular container; at least one tampon; and a second compartmentcarrying: at least one feminine napkin.
 18. The carrier system of claim17, wherein the first compartment comprises a plurality ofsub-compartments.
 19. The carrier system of claim 17, wherein the secondcompartment comprises a plurality of sub-compartments.
 20. The carriersystem of claim 17, further comprising a carrying strap releaseablycoupled to the bottom container portion.
 21. The carrier system of claim17, further comprising a lock operable to securely engage the lid to thebottom container.
 22. A carrier comprising: a lid defining a firstcompartment; a bottom container portion coupled to the lid and defininga second compartment; the bottom container portion further defines anopening operable to releaseably engage a hook; a lock operable tosecurely engage the lid to the bottom container; and first and secondelastic bands operable to respectively and releaseably retaining aplurality of feminine hygiene products in the first and secondcompartments respectively.